Shinobi's first time out

[TheHabit]

First day out for Shinobi, we got him a week ago today. He was so brave! it surprised me. He didnt even ball up, he was very relaxed and started exploring after only a few minutes!








does he look a bit thin to anyone besides me?

[laura2008]

awww great pics!

[NightLad]

does he look a bit thin to anyone besides me?

How old is he, and what is his diet/feed schedule?

He looks really nice!

[TheHabit]

i'm not sure how old he is, but hes about 2 feet long, havent gotten to weigh him yet. First time i fed him was on tuesday and he ate 2 "crawler" mice, i think theyre the next step up from fuzzies. Should i feed him 3 next time?

[NightLad]

i'm not sure how old he is, but hes about 2 feet long, havent gotten to weigh him yet. First time i fed him was on tuesday and he ate 2 "crawler" mice, i think theyre the next step up from fuzzies. Should i feed him 3 next time?

2 feet long? Hmmm. My BP is a little over 2' long and he was born Sept. 22 07.

I feed him 1 25-30 gram mouse or rat-pup per week. He weighs 312 grams. I suggest getting a good kitchen digital scale so you can keep track of his weight and his food's weight. I am going to be getting him some larger foodstuffs soon, too. A good rule of thumb to use is to never feed prey with more girth than the snake. You could most likely go with a larger mouse or rar-pup now, rather than two small little meals. Weigh it to make sure it isn't too large (35+ grams) and make sure it isn't thicker around than the snake, and you should be good.

Also, now is a good time to consider if you want to feed live or if pre-killed or frozen/thawed is better. Personally I am going frozen/thawed. There are lots of threads about these options on the husbandry forums. I hope this helps!

[TheHabit]

I'll be sticking with f/t. I dont think I could bring myself to feed live or stunned I am also going to try 1 adult mouse next week instead of the smaller mice, and I'll be getting a kitchen scale this weekend.

[NightLad]

I'll be sticking with f/t. I dont think I could bring myself to feed live or stunned I am also going to try 1 adult mouse next week instead of the smaller mice, and I'll be getting a kitchen scale this weekend.

That's great! I keep weekly records of my snakes weight and the weight of the prey prior to feeding. It is a big help, and will also assist a vet to better assess the health of your snake should you ever need their services. (Knock wood!)

I would not stun. There is a bit of a debate about it, but this is the wider theory/advice I hear again and again and I agree with. When you stun the mouse has a window of immobility in which it is stunned. However, it is also immediately put into "aggression mode." If your snake does not eat it right away, or you did not stun it as hard as you thought you did, it can and will snap out of it and immediately attack the closest thing it sees as a threat. Namely, your snake. They can be very vicious. It is much better, when feeding live, to keep the mouse calm prior to being introduced to the snake. Feed it, give it water, let it get cozy, then gentle introduce it to - what it might consider - a new living environment. Snakes 'strike' at their prey, they take it by surprise, they were not meant to rough-and-tumble with it. Let the prey be calm and oblivious until its neck is in the snakes jaws and its body is restrained by layers of coils. That way you run a lower risk of injury to your snake.

That's my opinion and to me, it makes sense. I offer it for information purposes.

Kudos on the F/T. My snake refused F/T for a long long time. In fact, he still refuses. He just took his first pre-killed mouse a week ago. LOL Slowly but surely we will get there. Aside from a stubborn streak he is otherwise a real champ.

You may also try moving him to rats when he outgrows mice. He may refuse at first because BPs tend to 'imprint' on their food and not enjoy changing their diet, but you may find rats better in the future instead of feeding multiple mice.

Here is a chart to explain the size and relativity of prey items for snakes:

[TheHabit]

thanks much!